Friday, April 23
Muncie, Ind.
12 p.m.
Ball State University
22-11, 0
3
vs
1
Northern Illinois
7-24, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Northern Illinois
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
4
1
Ball State
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
X
3
7
0
First-Place Cardinals Win Friday Pair
April 23, 2021 | Baseball
MUNCIE - John Baker was marvelous and record-breaking, Chayce McDermott was overpowering and the Ball State baseball team won two games over Northern Illinois Friday afternoon at Ball Diamond. Baker, the active Division I leader in career strikeouts, surpassed the career strikeouts record held by Ball State Hall of Famer Bryan Bullington in a 3-1 win in the early game. McDermott then fanned 12 batters and the Cards got big hits late as they swept the doubleheader 6-2.Â
Game 1 - Ball State 3, NIU 1 (PDF Box Score)
Baker threw a complete game and allowed just a single run on a solo homer, an outing head coach Rich Maloney described as "marvelous." He needed six strikeouts to tie Bullington's record, and he came out firing as if it was possible he could get all six in the 1st inning. He had five in the first three innings and tied it in the 4th. The first pitch of the 4th inning was a solo homer by NIU's Nick Drobushevich to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. The record-breaking punchout came in the 5th, just moments after Baker pulled a fake-to-1st-throw-to-3rd pickoff move to help get out of a jam.Â
And, in his 22nd career college win, he was the all-time strikeout leader in a program that's seen four players win MAC Pitcher of the Year and 35 pitchers be selected in the MLB Draft.Â
"I knew I was getting pretty close, and when they made the announcement (over the PA) I was pretty excited. But I still had a guy on base so I was more thinking about that," Baker said. "I'm not too worried about the individual record, Im' just glad we were able to get the win. It's an awesome feeling though, knowing the greats that have played at BSU."
Baker (4-2) kept Ball State in the game until the Cards found the timely hits. RBI singles from Ross Messina and Trenton Quartermaine along with an all-out hustle double by Ryan Peltier scored three runs in the 8th inning and then Baker came out in the 9th to finish the job. It was his second complete game of the season. In vintage Baker fashion, 51-out game came in a blistering pace of 2 hours, 14 minutes.
Game 2 - Ball State 6, NIU 2 (PDF Box Score)
After Baker's dominance and an 8th inning rally to win the noon game, the Cards neatly scored three runs in the 3rd inning and three more in the 5th to cruise in the 7-inning nightcap win. Decker Scheffler and Peltier delivered RBI hits and BSU scored on a fielder's choice where NIU got a force at home and then there was a collision at 1st base which allowed the Cardinals to score again.Â
Three runs was all McDermott would need. He struck out 12 over 6.0 innings and allowed one unearned run. Andre Orselli slammed the door in the 7th for his 5th save.
The run scoring was Peltier and Quartermaine again, each with RBI hits in the 5th inning when BSU put the game out of reach.Â
STANDINGS CHECK: Central Michigan and Ball State entered the day tied in the standings, and neither team lost. But BSU's two wins is one more than CMU's one, so the Cards enter Saturday a half-game up in the standings. Ball State is 14-4 and Central Michigan is 13-4.
MORE STRIKEOUTS THAN ANYONE PLAYING: Baker now owns 359 career strikeouts, the most of any Division I active player. The player second on the list (Alek Jacob of Gonzaga) is listed at 291 strikeouts. There is one college baseball player with more strikeouts than Baker: Zach Parish of Division II Missouri Southern State with 451.
LATE AND CLOSE: Time and again this gritty Ball State team delivers in late-game situations. The Cardinals have outscored opponents 49-14 in the 8th and 9th innings this season.
UP NEXT: BSU and NIU are planning to play a noon doubleheader Saturday, a 7-inning game then a 9-inning game. Stay tuned to Ball State athletics and baseball platforms for updates. The Cardinals travel to Bowling Green next weekend after this series with Northern Illinois.
Â
Game 1 - Ball State 3, NIU 1 (PDF Box Score)
Baker threw a complete game and allowed just a single run on a solo homer, an outing head coach Rich Maloney described as "marvelous." He needed six strikeouts to tie Bullington's record, and he came out firing as if it was possible he could get all six in the 1st inning. He had five in the first three innings and tied it in the 4th. The first pitch of the 4th inning was a solo homer by NIU's Nick Drobushevich to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. The record-breaking punchout came in the 5th, just moments after Baker pulled a fake-to-1st-throw-to-3rd pickoff move to help get out of a jam.Â
And, in his 22nd career college win, he was the all-time strikeout leader in a program that's seen four players win MAC Pitcher of the Year and 35 pitchers be selected in the MLB Draft.Â
"I knew I was getting pretty close, and when they made the announcement (over the PA) I was pretty excited. But I still had a guy on base so I was more thinking about that," Baker said. "I'm not too worried about the individual record, Im' just glad we were able to get the win. It's an awesome feeling though, knowing the greats that have played at BSU."
Baker (4-2) kept Ball State in the game until the Cards found the timely hits. RBI singles from Ross Messina and Trenton Quartermaine along with an all-out hustle double by Ryan Peltier scored three runs in the 8th inning and then Baker came out in the 9th to finish the job. It was his second complete game of the season. In vintage Baker fashion, 51-out game came in a blistering pace of 2 hours, 14 minutes.
Game 2 - Ball State 6, NIU 2 (PDF Box Score)
After Baker's dominance and an 8th inning rally to win the noon game, the Cards neatly scored three runs in the 3rd inning and three more in the 5th to cruise in the 7-inning nightcap win. Decker Scheffler and Peltier delivered RBI hits and BSU scored on a fielder's choice where NIU got a force at home and then there was a collision at 1st base which allowed the Cardinals to score again.Â
Three runs was all McDermott would need. He struck out 12 over 6.0 innings and allowed one unearned run. Andre Orselli slammed the door in the 7th for his 5th save.
The run scoring was Peltier and Quartermaine again, each with RBI hits in the 5th inning when BSU put the game out of reach.Â
STANDINGS CHECK: Central Michigan and Ball State entered the day tied in the standings, and neither team lost. But BSU's two wins is one more than CMU's one, so the Cards enter Saturday a half-game up in the standings. Ball State is 14-4 and Central Michigan is 13-4.
MORE STRIKEOUTS THAN ANYONE PLAYING: Baker now owns 359 career strikeouts, the most of any Division I active player. The player second on the list (Alek Jacob of Gonzaga) is listed at 291 strikeouts. There is one college baseball player with more strikeouts than Baker: Zach Parish of Division II Missouri Southern State with 451.
LATE AND CLOSE: Time and again this gritty Ball State team delivers in late-game situations. The Cardinals have outscored opponents 49-14 in the 8th and 9th innings this season.
UP NEXT: BSU and NIU are planning to play a noon doubleheader Saturday, a 7-inning game then a 9-inning game. Stay tuned to Ball State athletics and baseball platforms for updates. The Cardinals travel to Bowling Green next weekend after this series with Northern Illinois.
Â
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Baker, John (4-2)
L: HEDMARK, Erik (0-3)
Batting:
HR: DROBUSHEVICH, Nick 1
RBI: DROBUSHEVICH, Nick 1
Base Running:
RUNS: DROBUSHEVICH, Nick 1
CS: BARNES, Matt 1 ; SMITH, Kam 1 ; LONTEEN, Dylan 1
Batting:
2B: Peltier, Ryan 1
RBI: Messina, Ross 1 ; Peltier, Ryan 1 ; Quartermaine, Trenton 1
SH: Tellier, Adam 1 ; Powell, Nick 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Navarro, Noah 1 ; Messina, Ross 1 ; Peltier, Ryan 1
SB: Powell, Nick 1
HBP: Sebby, Chase 1 ; Conant, Justin 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
RHP/DH
/ Baseball
IF
/ Baseball1B/3B
/ Baseball
OF/1B
/ BaseballBaseball // 5 AM Workouts
Tuesday, August 26
Ball State Director of Athletics Jeff Mitchell discusses the NCAA vs. House Settlement
Tuesday, July 01
Director of Athletics Jeff Mitchell discusses NCAA vs. House Settlement & Bill Richards Thank You
Friday, June 27
Baseball // Day 1 MAC Tournament Recap: Win vs. EMU
Thursday, May 22